People on low incomes who need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home in areas with high incidence of COVID-19 will benefit from a new payment scheme starting on Tuesday 1 September, the Health Secretary has announced today.
Starting with a trial in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle and Oldham to ensure the process works, eligible individuals who test positive with the virus will receive £130 for their 10-day period of self-isolation.
Other members of their household, who have to self-isolate for 14 days, will be entitled to a payment of £182.
Non-household contacts advised to self-isolate through NHS Test and Trace will also be entitled to a payment of up to £182, tailored to the individual length of their isolation period.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has repeatedly called for the introduction of such a scheme.
He said: “I have been calling for weeks for the Government to provide financial support for those asked to self-isolate. I am pleased they have at last acknowledged this issue but am sorry to say this move goes nowhere near far enough.
“The Health Secretary has already said that he couldn’t live on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) at £95 a week. So how can an announcement like this work?
“For many workers in Greater Manchester, this will not provide the support people need to cooperate with NHS Test and Trace. Having belatedly acknowledged that something needs to be done, Government must now accept the calls of the ‘Time Out to Help Out’ campaign and support people across the country to self-isolate on full pay.
“For us to get a grip on this virus before we head into a winter without a vaccine, the vast majority of those contacted by national Test and Trace need to be able to self-isolate immediately and not worry about loss of earnings or, worse, losing a job. Quite simply, these measures are not good enough.”
